Wednesday, February 15, 2012

GLUTEN-FREE CRISPY, CORNY TOASTED ALMOND CHERRY DELIGHT WAFFLES

I meant to post this recipe for Valentine's Day, but it didn't happen! But, better late than never-- these beauties would be delicious any time of the year. I based them on the white bean/oat waffles that I developed for the first version of Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes-- low in fat; high in protein, fiber and other nutrients. They also just happen to be gluten-free.

My two 12-year-old granddaughters ate quite a few of these for brunch this last Sunday after a sleep-over at our house. They were quite surprised when I revealed the "secret ingredient", white beans, but that didn't deter them from eating more!

Don't be put off by having to put the beans in water to soak
the night before. This takes just minutes before you retire for the night and
then, in the morning, the batter is quickly made in the blender while the
waffle iron heats up. They can be reheated quickly in a very hot oven for a
short time (you just want to crisp and heat them, not dry them out), or in a
toaster. Keep some ready-made in the
freezer for quick toaster snacks-- they are great eaten out of hand with a
little low-sugar jam.

NOTE: Use only dried white navy beans or Great Northern beans or split (white) urad dal for making white bean flour, or purchase bean flour made from only one of those varieties. (Chickpea flour is fine, too.) DO NOT use cannellini beans, red or white kidney beans, butter beans, broad beans or lima beans for making flour; nor should you use those 6 varieties of beans whole, soaked (but raw) and blended into recipes to be cooked or baked. Those 6 varieties of beans all need to be soaked for at least 5 hours, water discarded, and then boiled in fresh water for 10 to 15 minutes before simmering until tender before eating. This eliminates toxic lectins which can cause all sorts of digestive distress in some people. And be advised that slow-cookers do not always get hot enough to get rid of the toxin, so soak and boil as advised above before finishing in a slow-cooker. If using a pressure cooker to cook kidney beans or the other 4 varieties mentioned as problematic, you do not need to pre-boil for 10 minutes as the very high temperatures reached inside the pressure cooker are adequate to destroy the toxin, but definitely soak first and discard the water. (Info from this article.)The toxin in white kidney beans at about 1/3rd the concentration of red kidney beans, and broad (fava) beans, butter beans and lima beans at about 5 to 10%. Don't panic about lectins, but be informed-- see https://authoritynutrition.com/dietary-lectins/ and http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/food-poisoning/red-kidney-bean-toxins.html

These are crispy, ultra-nutritious homemade
waffles, delicious and far superior to any frozen waffle available. These waffles are super-easy to mix up, but take a little longer to bake than ordinary waffles
(about 8 minutes), so you might want to make them ahead of serving time, or have two
waffle irons going at the same time. They can be reheated quickly in a very hot
oven for a short time (you just want to crisp and heat them, not dry them out),
or in a toaster. Note: Don't worry, no one will
suspect that there are beans in these waffles!

Soak the beans in plenty of water. The
beans can soak in water in the refrigerator for up to a week with no
fermentation, if you aren't sure when you'll make the waffles.

In
the morning:

Drain the beans. Place them in a sturdy blender along with all of the other ingredients, in the order given. Blend until smooth
and light and foamy. This may take several minutes. NOTE: Some blenders are too cheaply-made to grind properly, although beans soaked all night should be no problem.

Let the batter stand while you heat up your
waffle iron on medium setting. It's best to use a newer nonstick model in order for this no-added-oil recipe
to be successful. I use either a Cuisinart Classic Round waffle maker that makes 7" waffles, or a model that makes two 4" square waffles at a time. Do not use a Belgian waffle iron(one with deep depressions that makes thick waffles), or one with very tiny depressions. Just an ordinary "classic" or "traditional" waffle iron! There are various brands that make them.

When the iron is hot, spray with oil and pour on about a
heaping 1/3 cup batter for each 4" square waffle or 2/3 cup for each 7" round
waffle. Close the iron and set the timer for 8 minutes. Don't attempt to remove
the waffle before 8 minutes is up. If the iron is hard to open, don't force it-- let it cook for a
couple of more minutes. You can usually tell when a waffle is done when there is no steam coming out of the iron anymore.

The waffle should be golden-brown and crispy. Remove the waffle from the iron with a fork.

Stir the batter again briefly before
pouring out each waffle. If the batter gets thicker on standing, add a little
water, just until it's the consistency you started out with. Spray the waffle maker with oil before making each waffle.

Serve the waffles immediately, or let them
cool on cake racks before re-heating or storing. When they are cool, they can be frozen in plastic bags or
rigid containers. Serve with your favorite toppings.

7 comments:

GemueseGirl
said...

Bryanna, this looks like a great recipe. I will try these myself and also share this with two gluten sensitive friends.Btw - I just made your Okara/Miso 'parmesan' sprinkles last night and they were a big hit with an omnivore friend who was over for dinner, so I gave her a jar to take home. Among others, your 'beefy' broth recipe is a regular in my kitchen, both for Soy Curls and for seitan.Being a big fan of yours, I always refer people to your blog. Thank you for all your work and for sharing. Best regards from Connecticut.

Lovely looking! I will definitely share this with my gluten free friends and readers of my blog. My sister has recently become vegan (and she's GF) and I've already sent her a link to this recipe. Thanks!!!!

Made this at my friend's house as I do not have a waffle iron. The batter broke her blender, it overworked it. I was so embarrassed. The waffles got stuck in the waffle iron and we had a hard time opening it. They stuck to the iron and were quite mangled by the time we finally got them off. We've made vegan waffles in her iron before and they too stuck. Maybe her waffle iron isn't suitable for eggless batter.The waffles were really really tasty thought and I want to make them again. Perhaps I will use the batter as pancake.

The print-friendly version omits the cornmeal, sugar, & flax seed. I just went back to check the recipe as I was planning to try it in the morning. I was wondering why they were "corny" since there was no corn in the recipe I printed out. I expect they will turn out better with the cornmeal, sugar & flax seed than they would have without. ;)

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